“Good afternoon.  The Strategic Forces Subcommittee will come to order.  Last year, on September 17^th, President Obama announced the new Phased Adaptive Approach strategy, or the PAA, for defending Europe and the United States against the growing threat of a ballistic missile attack, particularly from Iran. In his announcement, the President said: “our new missile defense architecture in Europe will provide stronger, smarter, and swifter defenses of American forces and American allies.” Last February, as part the Ballistic Missile Defense Review signed by the Secretary of Defense, the PAA strategy was expanded to address other regional missile threats. 

“Today, the Strategic Forces Subcommittee will review the Administration’s work on implementing the Phased Adaptive Approach over the past year.  We will hear from four distinguished witnesses:

• Dr. Jim Miller, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy;
• Lieutenant General Patrick J. O'Reilly, Director of the Missile Defense Agency;
• Rear Admiral Archer M. Macy, Jr., Director of the Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Organization for the Joint Staff; and
• Mr. Frank Rose, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Space and Defense Policy.

 “I want to thank each of our witnesses for appearing today.  I also want to congratulate our witnesses, and the Administration as a whole for reaching agreement during the recent Lisbon Summit on a “strategic framework” for NATO.  This framework establishes the objective of achieving, and I quote, “the capability to defend our populations and territories against ballistic missile attack as a core element of our collective defence, which contributes to the indivisible security of the Alliance.” NATO-izing missile defense was a primary goal that my predecessor, Chairman Tauscher, pressed for during her tenure in this job.  Hopefully, the agreement reached at the Lisbon Summit will pave the way for rapid implementation of the PAA and open opportunities for sharing the burden of regional missile defenses with our allies and friends. 

“Today, about a year and two months after the announcement, the Subcommittee will have an opportunity to hear from key Administration witnesses on efforts to implement the PAA.  In that regard, we asked our witnesses to address three key questions: 

“First, what are the key technical milestones that we should be watching for in each phase of the plan, and where do we stand in achieving those milestones?  More broadly, where do we stand in defining the technical objectives and components for each phase?   

“Second, where do we stand in completing the operational plans and assessment of missile inventory requirements for each phase of the PAA?  Specifically, when can we expect to see the results of the next Joint Capabilities Mix study? 

“Finally, where do we stand in defining the requirements for basing elements of each phase of the PAA on European soil, and on completing the necessary agreements with each of the host nations?  

            “Thanks again to each of our witnesses for making time to testify before the subcommittee today and we look forward to hearing your views on the questions before the subcommittee today. Before I turn the floor over to our Ranking Member, Mr. Turner for his opening statement, I would like to note that this will be the last hearing of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee during the 111^th Congress and, thus my last hearing as Chairman [for the moment].  It has been a pleasure to chair the subcommittee over the last year and a half, and I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their contributions to our work.  But especially, I would like to thank the Ranking Member for his partnership in this endeavor.  While we did not always agree, I have always valued his advice and counsel, and have appreciated his support for the process. The Armed Services Committee is a unique institution in the House and I am proud to be part of the bipartisan tradition we have maintained from its beginnings. With that, let me turn to the Ranking Member, Mr. Turner, for any opening comments he may have.” 

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